Four men have been arrested after £40m worth of cocaine was found in the back of a van in a Yorkshire village pub car park.
About 500kg of the drug was discovered in a Vauxhall Vivaro in the car park of the Stags Head Inn in Lelley, East Yorkshire, the National Crime Agency said.
It is believed that the drugs had been transferred from a larger vessel sailing off the coast of Hull to shore using a rigid-hulled inflatable boat a few hours before. The boat was abandoned at Easington Beach, the NCA added.
The beach is about 18 miles from the pub, where the drugs – with an estimated street value of about £40m – were found.
A 22-year-old from Argyll, a 32-year-old from Oban and a 24-year-old from Campbeltown, all in Scotland, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to import class A drugs at about 8.30am on Saturday 4 May in Lelley, as well as a 39-year-old from Colombia, the NCA added.
Alan French, the senior investigating officer, said: “This was a significant amount of cocaine and its seizure will be a sizable blow to the organised crime group which attempted to smuggle it into the UK.
“There’s no doubt these drugs would have been sold into communities around the UK, fuelling further crime and exploitation. Working with our law enforcement partners we are determined to do all we can to disrupt criminal activity, and protect the UK’s border security.
“Our investigation continues following these arrests.”
The NCA operation was supported by Humberside police, the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit and Border Force.